The XX Factor : Palin's convention speech

Palin as Cinderella

Melinda Henneberger — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 16:33:00 GMT

The funny thing about Sarah Palin's expensive new wardrobe is that most of her recent purchases are faux down-market, simple pieces like the black pencil skirt she had on at the convention, or the white blouses she often wears -- clothes that look as...(read more)

Ann Coulter with Babies!

Rosa Brooks — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 20:20:00 GMT

Dahlia's got it: what's depressing about Palin is that she represents the Ann Coulterization of the Republican party. That's what was tugging at my unconscious mind as I watched her spout the most vicious and irresponsible claptrap, with such a gleeful...(read more)

Sarah Palin and The Devil Wears Prada

E.J. Graff — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 19:59:00 GMT

I haven’t posted yet on the Sarah Palin Show, mainly because it’s all just been too darn entertaining to stop snorting and say anything intelligent. Last week I persuaded a twentysomething family friend to tune into the Obama speech by telling her that...(read more)

Mainstreaming the Mean Girl

Dahlia Lithwick — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 13:16:00 GMT

Rosa, I couldn't agree more about the nastiness. What we saw last night was the mainstreaming of Ann Coulter, the normalization of the principle that it isn't bile when it's spoken by a pretty woman. Coulter has gloated, "I am emboldened by my looks to...(read more)

I'm Depressed Now

Rosa Brooks — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 12:38:00 GMT

I'm not surprised that Sarah Palin can deliver a good speech. In my opinion, anyone capable of handling five kids and ANY job and not ending up in the loony bin presumptively has at least the raw smarts and managerial skills to run the Oval Office. So...(read more)

Sarah-nade

Dahlia Lithwick — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 04:04:00 GMT

It was a great speech and she delivered it almost perfectly. She had one job to do tonight — persuade Americans that Barack Obama is a meringue, wrapped in a soufflé, served on imported bone china, and she did it well. And then she did it again. And again....(read more)

Cruel and Unusual

Maureen Sullivan — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:55:00 GMT

Wow, Palin is a pit bull with lipstick. Her speech was good with some killer lines — the one about "We tend to prefer candidates who don't talk about you one way in Scranton and another way in San Francisco" (or vice versa, I'm paraphrasing) will be hard...(read more)

Wow

Emily Yoffe — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:51:00 GMT

Before the speech we were talking about how we would be judging Sarah Palin on the rather simple task of speaking someone else's words. But she transcended that. She brought an X factor (an XX factor?) that announced someone formidable had arrived. It's...(read more)

Sarah Palin's Political Eros

Meghan O'Rourke — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 03:05:00 GMT

Sarah Palin loved being onstage, and people loved watching her love it. This was no Sarah, plain and tall. There was a palpable eros in the room at the RNC tonight, and not just when she made a subtle crack about the great "package" her union husband...(read more)

The Sarah Palin Show

Emily Bazelon — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 02:55:00 GMT

Why shouldn't a smart, gutsy hockey mom turned small-town mayor potentially run the United States? The McCain campaign has argued that attacks on Sarah Palin's lack of experience are sexism rather than legitimate inquiries; Palin took it one step further...(read more)